Lady Bulldogs look for repeat result vs. Randall 02-16-09

Published 6:00 pm, Friday, February 20, 2009

While the Plainview Lady Bulldogs hope the end result is the same as the first time they faced the Canyon Randall Lady Raiders this season, they hope the start is a lot different.

The teams face each other in the bi-district round of the Class 4A playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the First United Bank Center in Canyon.

Plainview (23-8) was relegated to the No. 2 seed in District 4-4A after losing a seeding game to Frenship on Friday, 41-39. Randall (13-13) is the No. 3 seed in District 3-4A.

Tuesday's game will be preceded by a matchup between 4-4A's top-seeded Frenship and Amarillo Caprock, the No. 4 seed in the northern district.

Plainview and Randall squared off in mid-December at the DogHouse and Plainview won, 52-46.

However, the Lady Dogs had to rally after giving up 22 first-quarter points and digging themselves into a huge hole.

Lady Dog head coach Danny Wrenn knows his team can ill afford to get off to that kind of a start Tuesday.

The key to the game, Wrenn said, is controlling the tempo.

Randall is a big, physically strong team that not only can pound the ball inside but shoot from outside, as well.

The Lady Raiders are led by six-foot senior post Kelsey Murgel, who Wrenn said can shoot well from the outside. She had 11 points and six rebounds in the December game. Erica Hernandez, a 5-foot-8 senior forward, also scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the previous meeting.

While the points are important, it is rebounding, which translates into second and third shots, that has Wrenn concerned.

In the first game, Randall out rebounded Plainview 23-12 for the game and 13-4 in the Lady Raiders' big first quarter. On Tuesday, the coach said his team simply cannot allow Randall to get second and third shots.

That is something the undersized Lady Dogs have had to contend with all year, and the players understand the importance of not letting themselves get pushed around.

Plainview point guard Laura Castillo admitted that she and her teammates did a poor job on the inside Friday in the loss against Frenship.

Even though it is a struggle to stand their ground against bigger players, Castillo said it doesn't matter. She and her teammates cannot lose that battle.

"You've just got to push with the lower body and use your legs," she said as she talked about how to solve the problem.

Wrenn said the critical thing Tuesday will be for Plainview to use its speed and quickness to push the ball up the floor and make it a full-court struggle for Randall.

Being undersized is nothing new for the Lady Bulldogs, and Wrenn always has said that being small presents matchup problems for opponents, just as it does for his team.

"If we let them come down and pound the ball inside, they'll have the advantage," he said. "If we can get them in a full-court game, we have the advantage."

With all the strategy and planning and scouting, Wrenn knows the final element in who wins the game will be who comes out with the most focus and tenacity.

In that area, the regular season has given him reason for confidence.

Plainview started the season without a single player with varsity experience after graduating the entire team from 2007-08. As a result, the Lady Bulldogs - with just one senior - had to learn on the run as they played their way through the season.

They did that successfully, ending the regular season with a 23-8 record including a 7-1 district record which gave them a share of the district championship with Frenship after the teams split their games during the regular district season.

"They've done awesome this year," Wrenn said of his young team. "I don't know how many people could lose the whole team and accomplish what they've accomplished."

As for Tuesday's game, Wrenn feels his team will be ready.

"They're really excited. They've done a good job of understanding that Randall is the important game (right now)."

The Plainview-randall winner plays either El Paso Chapin (22-8) or Clint Horizon (17-11) in the area round later this week, likely in the Midland-Odessa area.